HKLM conceptualised every aspect of the cutting-edge centre – from the minute details in its high-impact interior design to the precise movement of visitors through the space to maximise its inherent experientiality at every touchpoint.
Gary Harwood, HKLM founder, says the experience centre was the first of its scale to be completed in West Africa and was a massive undertaking.
“The building was designed by a leading Nigerian architectural firm, but we were tasked with conceptualising and designing the entire interior space, and the story it would tell visitors. That story was a combination of both the history and the future of Glo and telecommunications – two contrasting ideas that needed to sit seamlessly side by side in the same space. We knew the history, but we needed to bed down what we thought the future of telecoms and IT would look like, and then decide how to manifest this in a physical space,” Harwood explains.
According to the brief, the Glo Experience Centre had to provide Glo customers with an engaging, exciting and informative experience of the company’s current products and services and those of its partners. Simultaneously, it had to offer a window on the future of information and communications, demonstrating the transformative potential of digital technology.
Added to this, the centre had to cater to a diverse target audience: existing and prospective customers, the general public, school groups, university students and blue-chip business clients and government representatives – the latter which Glo wanted to engage through smart meeting rooms that tangibly showcased the latest meeting and conference technology. The centre would also have a state-of-the-art auditorium for immersive media events.
HKLM met the brief on every element, providing a holistic visitor experience from the museum, auditorium, virtual reality and gaming areas through to the smart health, smart city, smart learning and smart home sections. The contemporary design makes use of Glo’s primary colour palette of white and green, complemented with natural light wood tones throughout. In the museum, the colour palette is green combined with darker tones for a more intimate experience.
The agency also completed all the technical specifications for the different spaces, which were provided to Glo’s technical team for flawless execution of HKLM’s visionary design.
As Glo is a longstanding client of HKLM, the agency was well aware of the company’s growth objectives and designed the space as a kit of parts so it could be easily rolled out to other venues in the future. In fact, the project was such a success that as soon as the centre formally opens its doors to the public in the next few months, Glo will introduce similar experience centres in three additional destinations in Nigeria.
